Our First Camp (Part 3/3)

The three (3) hours driving was so much worth it after all. I am sure most of us can remember some "Old Sayings" our parents or grand-parents used to repeat to us day after day, "As long as the activity you did is able to let a trail of good memory, then that activity is worth it to fight for".  

Sleeping under thousand stars, it was something you may not find in everyday life. No rain, no cold, it was just adding the perfectness of our camping.

The top seven favorites list of  Family Bonding Activities are:

1. A 120 lbs Crawsfish Party
2. Canoeing
3. Quiz: Guessing Picture
4. Fishing
5. A Night Walk
6. Volleyball
7. Mountain biking

Galau

It was Tuesday late afternoon at Caitlyn Court, Houston, Texas. The wind blew from east side of our house. Our work was still half done. My wife started to fetch all cats to our garage. My hand was full of dirt that later I realized the gloves were not properly functioned.

Spring time was dominating our garden activities. This year, the season was coming late. My wife and I were not sure if the plants would be survive during next Winter season as now practically they only contain less than 6 months to strengthen the roots, the stems, the branches, and to grow the leaves. Those have not yet considered on how to survive against Texas hot weather during Summer season or any disease that may come due to insect, bug or overdose of pesticide.

That evening, surrounding our dining table for supper, we started all conversation as used to have every night. My oldest son commented the question I had about his photo that I have never seen it before. He simply said, “You do not know about the photo’s event? Where were you in my life?”

From his tone, I knew he practically made a joke on me. But the sentence, “Where were you in my life?” was good enough to halt my nerve for a while. How come I do not know his activity while we both live in the same roof? Am I that bad as a father?

That table is practically our hub station place inside our house. After finishing our dinner, everyone was back upstairs to work on their own activities at their own place. For them, they mostly work for homework. And for me? As usual, I was sitting back in front of PC Monitor reading email, googling internet, facebook, and writing blogs. In my fitful gloom, I was asking myself, if this routine done it in daily life, can I expect to have better quality of life? can I expect to have better family relationship? will I know what my kids doing? moreover, can I  be a better parent? Wallohualam (Prahoro Nurtjahyo, April 10, 2013)

Sleepless in Forest

Kalau saya katakan tidur di tenda itu comfy atau physically peaceful, artinya saya berbohong pada diri sendiri. Tidur di hutan itu, jauh dari yang namanya nyenyak. Maka, kalau ukuran sampeyan ikut camping HANYA karena kriteria tidurnya nanti enak atau tidak, maka sampai kapanpun, saya jamin bahwa sampeyan tidak akan pernah ikutan camping.

Paling tidak, saya menemukan tiga (3) alasan mengapa tidur pada saat camping menjadi tidak nyenyak, tidak peduli seberapa-pun besar ukuran airbed-nya atau seberapa-pun tebal lapisan selimut-nya.